It had already been on the cards, and now it’s official: David Alaba will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season. The club confirmed this on Friday in an official statement.
“Real Madrid C.F. and David Alaba have agreed to end his time as a player for our club at the end of the current season,” read a club statement released by the Blancos. The 33-year-old is set to receive a fitting send-off on Saturday during the season finale against Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The former Bayern Munich pro (431 appearances from 2009 to 2021) played for the Royal Club for five years and celebrated great successes with them: He won the Champions League twice with Real (2021/22 and 2023/24), the Club World Cup (2022), and was Spanish champion twice (2021/22 and 2023/24). In total, he won eleven titles with the Spanish club, for which he made 131 appearances.
Madrid president Florentino Perez then praised the Austrian to the skies. “Real Madrid will always be his home,” said the 79-year-old, emphasizing that Alaba “has the affection of all Madridistas in their hearts for his dedication and hard work.” Real itself writes that Alaba “was part of a team that shaped one of the most successful periods in our history.”
The departure had been looming
As successful as Alaba’s time in Madrid was, things have been anything but good for him lately. Alaba made just 13 appearances for the Royals this season. And since he was reportedly the third-highest earner with a monthly salary of 1.88 million euros, behind Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior (both 2.67 million), according to L’Equipe, it had long been rumored that he would leave the club. And now it has come to pass.
Since tearing his ACL in December 2023, he never really got back on track, repeatedly struggling with health issues; most recently, he had been dealing with calf problems. However, retirement is reportedly not on the table for the Vienna native. It is currently unclear what the future holds for Alaba. Most recently, there had been rumors of potential interest from AC Milan and Manchester United.
For the 33-year-old, however, the World Cup is the priority for now. With Austria, he will face Algeria, Argentina, and Jordan in the group stage in North America.
